The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) is primarily responsible for the collection of revenue, the protection of Jamaica’s borders against illicit imports and the facilitation of trade.
Along with the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ), it was mandated by the Government of Jamaica to implement a Port Community System (PCS) for the country. As partners, the two organizations have been working together to refine a number of trade related processes in order to streamline their operations for their clients.
How will things change?
In moving forward, the PAJ's PCS and Customs' ASYCUDA will be deeply integrated, allowing for refined trade activities. Worthy of note, some of the information that was previously
submitted to ASYCUDA will now be facilitated by the PCS, which is directly linked. This is due to the fact that the PCS will act as the central hub for much of the community's logistics efforts,
passing information from stakeholder to stakeholder, as necessary.
One such example is the manifest, which is needed by multiple stakeholders including Customs. Once Shipping Agents complete and submit the manifest within the PCS, it will be passed to Customs for
validation. Once validated by Customs, the manifest will then be passed to other parties as needed, including the Terminals and various Government Agencies. Additionally, co-loaders can now enter
their manifests in the PCS in draft mode, before the main agent's manifest is created.
In another example, transhipment bills will no longer be completed manually and sent to the various stakeholders. Shipping Agents will use the PCS to complete transhipment orders online,
which are then passed to various stakeholders, including Customs.
Additionally, given that much of the paper will be removed from trade processes, Jamaica Customs Agency will see significant cost and time savings as officers will utilize electronic devices
including computers and smartphones to handle day-to-day on-site operations. This will allow them to operate more efficiently and from anywhere.
Revenue Collection The PCS will be used to bridge the gaps between stakeholders and Customs' revenue collection teams. Given they will be able to receive and transmit information electronically, they can operate far more efficiently and cost-effectively.
Risk Management Customs' risk management teams will benefit from the availability of shipment information and analytics, which will allow them to operate more intelligently, efficiently and in a timely manner.
